Tug from the Tether
by Chloverfields
Summary: Raven finds that even after years have past, her mental bond with Robin is as close as the day the bond was formed. Now that they are matured she finds herself wondering if she should use that bond to help him ease his nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

I didn't mean to walk in on him like that. Sometimes, despite how hard I try to keep my walls up, I can feel him inside my head across the tether of our bond.

One would think that after…five years? I wouldn't feel our connection as strongly as I did the day I had to invade his mind to save him from Slade, but that isn't the case. Robin continues to remain as aloof and authoritative on the outside as that night when we all formed our motley crew, but I can sense what is really teeming behind the black and white mask.

I know that he lies awake at night plagued by his own nightmares. Just as I was at the coming of my father before my sixteenth birthday. There are nights when I am up late immersed in a book or sitting on the roof looking out at the landscape of Jump City when I feel a sudden jolt of sheer panic and fear. The very core of my being wants to teleport into his room and comfort him as he did for me all those years ago. I want to reassure him that his belief in my hopefulness is not misplaced and for him to place that hope in me again.

But tonight was different. When my own dark thoughts kept me up long past the rest of the citizens of Jump, I decided to venture out from my bedroom to the roof. I immediately sensed a familiar aura as I floated up on to the roof and saw Robin hunched over with his feet dangling over the side of the tower.

There was no movement from him as I slowed my approach and the abrupt tug on our bond halted my movements. My vision was filled with flashes of heart-wrenching emotion: The Flying Graysons falling to their death, Jason Todd's bloodied body, countless battles with Slade, my still body covered in the marks of Scath, even Trigon's attempt to take over the Earth. Shaking out of my stupor, I realized that I was within earshot of Robin, only to be greeted by the sound of broken sobs.

"Robin?" no response.

"Richard?" I whispered timidly, worried that he would be angry with me for discovering him after this emotional outburst.

Robin jumped, clearly unaware that he had been joined on the roof.

"Raven? What are you doing awake, we have training in four hours," his voice was low and rough, the strain from his turmoil still prevalent.

"I have a feeling that it is the same reason that you are Richard." I stated calmly while staring at the middle of his back

For the first time I noticed that he was not in his uniform but was in a simple white tee and red athletic shorts. It is rare to find Robin without his uniform, which is an even rarer occurrence for him than myself or Starfire and so to see him without his cape is jarring. Clearly something was bothering him tremendously if his thoughts of being a Titan and protecting the city had come secondary to journeying up to the roof.

"You know how I was plagued with nightmares prior to the coming of my father? While the frequency might have diminished there are still some nights that I can feel his presence and it terrifies me."

At this Robin finally turned his head to look at me and saw his bright blue eyes meet mine, still haunted by the thoughts from his nightmares.

"Rae…I" he stuttered, breaking eye contact. I approached him slowly and sat down next to him, letting my feet hang down.

"Richard, it's okay. You don't have to say anything," I meet his eyes and tap my forefinger to my temple.

"The minute I stepped onto the roof and saw you here I knew that you were having just as wonderful of a night as I was."

Robin didn't respond but instead looked at me for a long second and sighed before gently lowering his head onto my shoulder.

"Are you always this observant, Rae? Can you feel my pain from across the room when I am forced to eat one of Star's puddings of friendship?" he chuckles dryly but even from his perch on my arm it is clear that the humor is only half-hearted.

I turn my head to look at him resting on my shoulder to see his eyes meet mine and I give him a dry look to tell him how much I appreciated his attempt at humor.

"Mostly you just feel pity for yourself for having to endure such an atrocity to the definition of pudding. You know," I pause unsure if I want him to be aware that I know about his chronic nightmares.

"I can feel your distress all the way from my room no matter where you are in the tower, whether it be 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning. It is exceptionally hard not to teleport directly in to your room to make sure that you are okay" I look away from him to Jump City's skyline, not wanting to see his reaction to my words.

Suddenly a warm hand interlaces with mine and tugs me back to the present.

"Why don't you?"

-)-

Stay golden, my Readers. - Chlover


	2. Chapter 2

With a long, deep sigh I floated back down onto my pillow finally ready to sleep. After having spent the greater part of an hour on the roof with Robin, I decided that at least a feeble attempt at some shut eye was long overdue.

Lying in bed staring at the dark shadows cast on my ceiling, I found myself drawn to thoughts of more intimate shadows cast by the night sky and the evening that I had shared with the boy wonder. Although the more I dwell on it, he really is no longer a boy. If I were to observe him with my eyes closed, Robin would be the same hard-headed, strong-willed leader that we all agree to rally behind day after day but the minute I look into his steel, blue eyes it is clear he is anything but the same person. Just the sheer fact that I am looking into his eyes and not the blank white ovals of his mask is a testament to how much he trusts...no we trust each other. The rest of the team has yet to see Robin without his mask, but he bared his face to me almost three years ago.

 _In the dim of the candlelight sitting in bed I stilled my hand as I went to flip the page of my book. Tilting my head I heard the sound of footfall pause outside of my door and I immediately felt the overwhelming calm of Robin's familiar aura. At the sound of his soft knock, I reached out a hand to flip back the lock and was greeted by Robin in his night clothes and mask standing in the doorway looking at his feet._

 _"Robin?" clearly something was on his mind but I couldn't understand why he wasn't looking at me._

 _His masked face flicks up to meet mine for a brief moment before looking back down at his feet and shuffles into my room._

 _"Rae…we are friends," he pauses and sits at the end of my bed. "I honestly think you are my best friend. While I may have Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, or even the guys of Titans West none of them understand me quite like you do. You understand the darkness that lurks inside of me that I have struggled to keep at bay. That darkness what was caused me to join forces with Slade and to create Red X."_

 _Robin looks up at me to make sure that I understand the gravity of his words. While I might understand our bond and his deep rooted emotions, there is no way I could ever understand his thoughts and feelings because he never has been one for many words. I can usually get more out of him through my empathy than through his own mouth._

 _"It is just so hard for me to open up to someone, but it has always felt so easy with you. Ever since you entered my mind to save me from Slade, I have felt that while my option to hide from you was shattered…I also gained an amazing opportunity. I…" At this Robin falters and runs his ungloved hands through his hair with frustration._

 _"Robin…even after having beat Trigon you still don't get it do you?" I lift up one side of my mouth in an attempt to lighten the tense and confused emotions I could feel seething off of my teammate._

 _"It took you and the team witnessing me nearly beat Slade to a pulp covered in the marks of Scath before I finally broke down and told you about my heritage. Even in the face of death and the destruction of the world that I had come to think of as my second home…I truly believed that I was to be alone and act alone. But your frustratingly optimistic attitude along with the love and support from the rest of the team proved that I was not alone. I had indeed found my family in my friends."_

 _I stared down at my sheets and picked at the hole in the deep purple fabric. Robin was quiet and across our tether I was having a difficult time picking out a singular emotion. The swirl in his head was causing a throb in my temple and I wondered, not for the first time since he had entered my room, what it was that was bothering him so much. As I continued to pull at a single thread in my sheets, I jerked up when I felt a sudden calm wash over me._

 _I glanced up at Robin to see him pulling at the corners of his mask._

 _"Robin! What are you doing?" I asked bewildered._

 _"Rae." He smiles at me with not his cocky rich boy smirk but his full-watt smile that so very rarely graces his face dropping his hand from his face and taking one of my hands instead. "Ever since I came to Jump City I have been living behind this mask. It has made me happy because it gave me the ability to rebrand myself as a superhero and my own individual. Not the adoptive son of the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. While I was content to go by the same moniker as I had in Gotham, I didn't want Bruce's shadow following me all the way through my new identity." He shrugged._

 _"With the Titans, I have never thought to take off my mask because being in Jump means being Robin, mask and all. That is just who I am and all of you have accepted me for that," he pauses to look at our interlocked hands._

 _"Robin…I am sensing a but in that sentence," I said giving him a ghost of a smile. It is clear that this dilemma or emotion that he is facing is difficult for him to express in words and I wanted to give him the encouragement to continue._

 _At my comment he does indeed smile and squeezes my hand._

 _"But, then you entered my mind and saved me from Slade. Then we grew closer and together along with the team saved you from the prophecy to become a portal for your father. I have suddenly found myself not wanting to be just Robin from Jump City anymore," he takes his hand out of mine and with both hands on either side of his mask releases the adhesive, pulling it off of his face._

 _I am no longer looking into the eyes of a black and white mask but the purest and brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. I no longer have to question whether or not he is looking at me behind his mask as his piercing eyes are holding my stare with just as much intensity as I am sure is reflected in mine. Without breaking eye contact Robin takes back my hand and smiles at me, his eyes lighting up with happiness._

 _"I want to be Richard Grayson…just Richard."_

That night when Robin took off his mask, all of those memories that I had seen flit across my mind while trying to save him from Slade finally made sense. I understood Robin, or Richard, for who he was and why it was so difficult for him to reach out to others. And honestly, we were just alike in that regard. I still call him Robin in front of the rest of the Titans and a good portion of the time when we are alone as well. But I know how much hearing me call him Richard matters and how difficult it was for him to open up in the first place.

My thoughts returning to the present. My eyes slowly drooped, thinking about how far we had grown not only as a team, but Robin and I as friends. I knew that could only mean more changes were bound to be around the corner. I just only hoped that I would be able to deal with them, not only myself, but be able to be there for Robin.

-)-

Stay golden, my Readers. - Chlover


	3. Chapter 3

I opened my bleary eyes to the sound of knocking on my door. Looking out at my dark purple shades, I could see that the sun was still creeping across the sky. Stretching my arms out over my head, I heard my joints popping as I rolled my shoulders and got up out of bed.

Shuffling over to my door, I hit the release and opened the door to the sight of a slightly disheveled Robin.

"Morning, Rae" Robin gave me a glint of a smile. "It's time to train...and I know how much you love physical activity."

At that I raised an eyebrow. Robin chuckled.

"I will meet you downstairs in the training room. I am sure you will love what we are going to do today". I shut the door in his smirking face and readied myself for what I was sure would be a fantastic morning.

Trudging down to the training area, I was greeted by equally drowsy teammates.

The Teen Titans that we once were of our youth have long since been stripped of our baby fat and even Beast Boy, or Garfield as we call him around the Tower, is nearing his 21st birthday and contemplating a name change with his newfound "manhood." Robin decided that we are all long past are teenage years and a couple years previous dropped the qualifier and simply go by the Titans which suits us all just fine.

Star, or Kori, has had to take periods off from the team to return to Tamaran to aid Galfore in political matters. Cyborg has been requested by the Justice League countless times and Garfield has even gone back to the Doom Patrol for a "reunion tour" as Mento coined it. Robin even travels to Gotham to aid Bruce and Tim. But no matter how long they are all gone, the Tower is home.

It seems like I am the only one who has never left to explore other cities or see to responsibilities. I have been content with my life in the Tower. I have not experienced much outside of our little neck of the woods, but considering how if my father had gotten his way I wouldn't even be on this earth anymore...I should count my blessings. Most would take this new opportunity at life to be adventurous and do all of the things he or she had dreamed of. But, that is the problem.

Since I was raised believing that my life would end at sixteen, what would be the point of dreaming about a future I knew I wouldn't have? It would only bring me sadness, which due to my powers I do not have the luxury of feeling if I want to keep the things around me in one piece.

My victories and adventures have within the Tower walls. With Trigon's hold no longer as strong, I have been able to show a little more emotion than before. However, I am still not Starfire by any stretch. Each raised eyebrow or small chuckle might as well be a grimace or a full belly laugh. The team can tell that I have been making a bigger effort, spending longer periods of time in the common room instead of holed up in my bedroom, and are still well aware that I need my boundaries. I am still not fully in control.

From Robin's remark, it seems like my boundaries might be a moot point for training today.

Robin stands in front of the mats situated in the middle of the room. I wrinkle my nose. Mats are never a good sign. Mats equal training scenarios that require physical labor and I abhor hand to hand combat.

"All of you are too reliant on your powers" Robin addresses us as we all circle around him at the mats.

"There is no guarantee that you will be able to fight off your enemies with your starbolts…" he glances at Starfire. "Or your telekinesis."

Looking down at the reflective surface of the wooden floor, I felt the heat of Robin's stare. There was no way I would give him the satisfaction of looking up to meet his masked face.

"You will be pairing off based on physical size." Garfield opened his mouth to argue. "And no Gar, being able to change into animals bigger than this room does not make you physically bigger than Starfire." Gar closed his mouth, making a short sound of disgust.

"Cy, you are with Kori and Gar, with Rae. This is a simple disarming exercise. The idea is not to beat your opponent into pulp, but to render them incapable of attacking you further."

He steps backwards off of the mat to make room for the pairs.

Kori immediately launched at Cyborg, attempting to use the element of surprise to her advantage.

Turning from the two already sparring, I looked to my own partner seeing a smirk on his green face. "I promise not to go too hard on you, Rae."

"Call me Rae one more time and I won't go easy on you either" I retort back.

Beast Boy lunges at me. Throwing my feet off balance as I attempt to dodge out of the way. He hooks his right arm at my stomach and even though I manage to jump backwards his first still grazes my body enough to knock the wind out of my lungs.

Since he is on the offensive I am only able to block his swift charges, never able to return fire. This might be a bit more challenging than I had expected. Since when did Gar gain muscle? Out of the corner of my eye I can see Robin observing our battle. Trying not to get distracted by the audience, I focused my attention back on the man in front of me.

Looking for an opening in his stance, I quickly twist my body and kick out my right leg at his side. Beast Boy counters and grabs my leg as it impacts with his side. Using my momentum against me he pushes me back still holding onto my leg and I loose my balance, landing firmly on my back against the mats.

Before I have a chance to regain my footing, Gar has his knee lightly pressed to my neck. "Checkmate, Rae!" He looks down at me with a smirk.

Robin stepped onto the mat. "Well done Gar...Rae" He raises up one side of his mask and I can just envision the shine in his eyes and the raised eyebrow hidden under his mask. "What was that? Did you feel sorry for Beast Boy or something? I thought I trained you better" he chuckles motioning Gar to get off the mat.

"Maybe you need a refresher? Spar with the former acrobat to redeem yourself?"

I glanced over to the side of the room and saw that Cyborg and Starfire had finished their match, it appeared that Cy had won, and they were all watching Robin and I on the mats.

Staring at Robin, it seemed as though his worries from the night before had completely vanished. He was joking with me as if the nightmares that had kept us both up into the wee hours were in the much more distant past. I would do anything to keep that smile on his face, even if that meant taking a few punches from him as well.

"Alright, Robin, bring it on. I was only going easy on Gar anyways" I looked over to Beast Boy leaning against the wall and winked.

I widened my stance and squared up my shoulders, turning to face Robin.

Smirking, "I am ready when you are Boy Wonder."

-)-

Stay golden, my Readers. - Chlover


	4. Chapter 4

Robin flashes me a toothy grin, dropping down into his fighting stance with his arms at the ready. I knew that it would be better to stand at the ready and wait for Robin's attack. He is much stronger and more skilled than I am at hand to hand combat. He has to be without the aid of powers or tech like the rest of our team. Robin made a slight lunge at me, pulling back at the last minute.

"Seriously, Robin? I thought you were better than this" I make a noise of exasperation.

"Rae...I am never above teasing you."

In response, I quickly slid out my right leg behind his front foot which caught him off balance and he landed on his back.

"Ready to quit your teasing _now_ , Robin?"

Robin hopped back up onto his feet and prepared his stance again. "I see that I will have to quit my teasing for now," he sighs. "I didn't want to have to go hard on you...but you leave me no choice."

I laugh at his remarks because I have never known Robin to do something halfass in his life.

After a few minutes of well-placed attacks by Robin, it was quickly becoming clear that my defenses were weakening. He isn't a master of over half of a dozen martial arts techniques for nothing. It didn't help that I was already fairly exhausted from my previous battle with Gar, Robin had the advantage of simply standing by during the first round.

He made one more jab at my side and my exhaustion finally caught up to me and I failed to block his blow, sending me flying down to the mats. In a move nearly identical to the one Beast Boy had done only a half an hour earlier, Robin had me in a pinned position. I was on my back with Robin's knees on either side of my hips pinning me down. He is grinning ear to ear as he leans down, putting his lips near my ear. "Game, set, match."

Feeling his warm breath tickling my ear, goosebumps swiftly travel up my arms and the compromised position we had found ourselves in makes my cheeks warm up in embarrassment. At that moment I really wished for the security of my cloak instead of the gym clothes I had donned for the workout. Even with the blush spreading across my cheeks, Robin did not ease up. He continued to hover his weight above my body, I tried to squirm out of his hold by wiggling my hips.

Scrunching my eyes closed, I jerked my hips up to meet Robin's, trying to buck him out of my lap and I hear a sharp exhale from the man above me. Opening my eyes I notice that his mouth has disappeared into a thin white line. What is his problem?

Rolling my hips again, I suddenly realize what had caused Robin's sudden change in mood. I could feel his arousal through the cloth of my gym clothes as my hips met his. I stared into his mask, both our bodies had stilled when Robin realized that I had become acutely aware of his growing discomfort. Unsure of what to say or how to diffuse the situation I remained still under the confines of Robin's arms at either side of my head. I could feel the heat of his stare as I avoided looking at him directly, instead focusing on the wisps of his black hair that had fallen in front of his mask.

Richard had begun to grow tired of his stoplight costume and wanted to gain a more mature look just like we had as a team. His hair has grown longer and I think he might have even let off on the hair gel. My hand twitched at my side with the urge to reach up and brush the hair from Richard's face.

Tilting my head to the side, I could see the rest of the team still watching us from the side of the room with furrowed brows at our prolonged position on the mat.

"You okay?" I whispered up at Robin.

After a few moments he finally responded through clenched teeth "Give me a sec, Rae".

Huffing out a breath I studied the crease in Robin's brow that loomed above me. There was a slight sheen of sweat along his hairline that disappeared into the locks of hair in front of his eyes. His mouth was in a pinched line that mirrored the concentration in his forehead, each wrinkle on his head adding another year onto his life.

I felt his chest move against mine as he took in a big breath and pushed himself off of me with his forearms. Once he had regained his footing he reached out a hand to help me off the ground, brushing his thumb against the back of my hand as I rose.

Clearing his throat Robin spoke loud enough for the rest of the team to hear our conversation, "I might get some grey hairs before you are able to best me in a spar, Raven."

"Good job today team. Dismissed."

"Seriously, Rob?" Gar squeaked as Cyborg elbowed him in the stomach.

"Beastie don't look a gift horse in the mouth" Cy said as he and Starfire headed out of the training room.

"Cy!" Beast Boy shouted back at Cyborg's retreating figure. "But Rob isn't the one who can change into horses, I am!"

Smirking I turned back to Robin who still had a tight grip on my hand.

Robin looked towards me with a blank face. "I will see you later, Rae. Meet me on the roof later?" Letting go of my hand he also took his leave from the room without waiting for my response.

-X-

Stay golden, my readers.

Chlover


	5. Chapter 5

After Robin left, I stayed with my feet planted on the mat staring blankly at the doors the rest of the team had just exited through.

While I might be slightly naive on the subject of sex, I am not a prude. It was unfair of me to move against Richard in that way and not expect his body to respond to mine. I was just so determined to get out from underneath him by any means necessary...even if that means was to arouse a certain part of the male anatomy.

Shrugging I exit the gym and head towards the shower. Due to the large commotion that I can hear in the common room even down an entire floor I figure that the bathroom is free at the moment.

Shuffling down the hall towards the elevator I opt to use minimal effort, both of the physical and mental variety.

The steam from the shower did wonders on my sore muscles and I spent a lot longer than necessary under the stream. Was Robin's reaction to me during training today just simply due to natural male attraction or did he have genuine romantic feelings towards me? While we are definitely best friends and I trust him with my life, I am not an optimist. I have read the tabloids and know how how the Boy Wonder and Kori are destined to be together. Following our return from Tokyo, Kori and Richard thought that there wasn't something romantic to their relationship, but Kori realized that she was in love with the idea of Richard, not him and everything that was hidden behind his mask. I heard from Gar that Kori has been flying out to Steel City and meeting up with a certain aquatic superhero. I think that Garth would be a good fit for her, if she can learn to control her blushing.

With a towel wrapped around my waist I step out of the shower to reach for clean clothes only to realize that in my haste to claim the bathroom, I failed to bring any clothes besides my sweaty workout attire. Whelp, we are all adults in this tower, with maybe the exception of Garfield if he opens his mouth, and there is no way I am putting dirty clothes back on.

Stepping out into the hallway I heave a giant sigh of relief to find my path empty. With my bundle of clothes in tow I phase into the hallway upstairs outside of my room and straight into Robin.

Due to the surprise we find ourselves tumbling to the ground and instinctively Robin reaches his arm around my waist pulling me to his chest to cushion my fall as he turns his back to hit the ground first.

"Oh my gosh, Robin, I am so sorry!"

"Are you okay?" He quickly scans my body for injuries.

"Yeah, Richard. Totally okay. It was my fault for not just phasing into my room in the first place."

Trailing off my face starts to warm realizing that I am still lying on top of him in the hallway with just a towel. Clearing my throat I move to get off of him and straighten the towel around my chest.

"Anyways, thanks for that valiant save from the evil carpet. I better get going."

At my movement Robin finally takes in my attire and I can see the start of a blush rising from under his mask.

"Any time, Rae."

Despite my best efforts to keep myself occupied the rest of the day, I mind continued to wander back to my encounter with Robin that morning. I know that due to our mental connection Richard and I will always feel close. I just hope that the attraction that I feel towards him isn't a projection.

My leg began to bounce up and down on my bed as I worried my bottom lip in my mouth. Despite all of the literature that I have accumulated on our bond, there is still so much that is scholarly speculation or that reads like a philosophy text.

Unable to sit idle in my room any longer, I phase up to the roof. The sun had just set and the moon was cresting over the horizon. Looking at the moon I was reminding of a story the monks had told me once during my studies.

There was once a brother and sister named Sol and Mani who first emerged as the cosmos were being created. But, unlike the other gods, the siblings were not confident in their place within this new world or what their powers were. They were instructed by the other gods to ride through the sky on horse-drawn chariots. The horses always fly across the sky because they are being pursued by the wolves Mockery and Hate.*

I wonder if Sol and Mani were upset at the gods for giving them their purpose in life. They did not have the freedom to explore or decide upon themselves what it was the two of them were going to spend the rest of eternity doing.

I know that I was not content to accept my destiny. I had always been told by those same monks that I was incapable of anything but destruction and despair on those around me. But it was Richard who convinced me that I was capable of more than that. I had spent my childhood believing that I would not be granted a future past my sixteenth birthday.

Robin went to hell, literally, to give me a chance at life and now I am afraid that what I want for my future is him. That thought even terrifies me, the half-demon.

-X-

*bonus points if you know what cultural mythology the story of Sol and Mani is from (:

Stay golden, my Readers.

\- Chlover


	6. Chapter 6

The lights of Jump City twinkled out in front of me across the water as I sat with my feet dangling over the edge of the tower roof. I could feel the breeze rustle the tips of my hair as I sat since my hood was down around my shoulders. Normally the cool air on the roof after dark would leave me chilled, but my nerves over meeting with Robin was making me flush.

Looking down at my feet as they moved side to side against the ledge of the tower, I began to weigh the pros and cons of opening up to Richard. Even though he is the one who wears a mask, sometimes it feels as though I am the one who hides my true identity from the rest of the world.

I catch my reflection in the steel air duct next to me on the roof and the lack of emotion portrayed in my eyes manages to cool the flush in my cheeks better than the breeze whipping through my hair. Richard has never hidden the fact that he is only human. Every since his apprenticeship with Slade and the subsequent poisoning of his mind from the mask, he has worked harder to admit his character flaws and his obsessions. I am envious of him for that.

A low creaking sounds from behind me and I turn my head to see Robin approaching.

"Rae."

His low greeting breaks the spell that has fallen over the starry night.

"Richard."

He slows his approach and joins me on the ledge of the roof, dropping his feet over the edge with his right knee just barely touching mine as he sits. With the lights of the tower illuminating him, I notice that he is dressed in simple night clothes of a cotton black t shirt and grey sweatpants. His bright blue eyes reflect the night lights of the city.

He reaches over to take my hand into his. Holding my hand he rubs his thumb over the knuckles, neither of us say anything as we sit looking out into the night.

It always seems that people change with the setting of the sun. Those who are loud and outgoing become quiet and reflective. Those who are quiet and reflective become open and talkative. I have never been one to be afraid of the dark. I find solace in the dark and know that the things that are most worthy of our fear are often not afraid of the dark either.

"Richard, are you afraid of the dark?"

He paused his his rotation over my knuckle and glanced over at me.

"While my parents were alive I definitely was. I remember that there were nights when I would go to bed before my parents were done performing and the idea of them not being there to protect me from the monsters in the dark would make it hard to sleep. But, after they died,"

He trailed off and he looked away from me and out onto the water.

"After they died and Bruce took me in, I lost that fear of the darkness."

He squeezed my hand and continued.

"I grew up quickly that night my parents died. I was faced with a harsh reality that there will not always be someone there to fight away your monsters. If you do not become strong enough to fight your own monsters, then the monsters will soon shift from the shadows and into reality."

I squeezed his hand back. Being raised by monks and having a mother would had been incapable of showing affection towards me, I am very familiar with the idea of having to fight my monsters on my own.

"Richard, I think we have both seen how hard it is to fight our monsters alone."

I took my free hand and brought it up to his cheek.

"Why don't we try to fight them together. See if that works better for us?"

He released his grasp on my hand and reaches up to capture the hand that I had cupping his face.

He smiles as he turns his body to face me, bring his legs up off of the ledge. My breath quickens as he places his hands on either side of my face, lightly caressing my cheeks with his thumbs. Leaning in he captures my lips with his.

My lips parted as he touched me with the slightest whisper of a kiss. I could feel his breath brush across my mouth as he hovers above me. I opened my eyes to see him searching my face for a sign of approval. Unable to find the words of encouragement I instead sought out actions to show him how much I wanted, no I needed, him in my life.

Turning my body to face him as well, I brought both my hands up to grab the nape of his neck and guided his lips back down to mine.

Richard's movements were no longer uncertain as our lips met for the second time. I could feel his teeth tug on my bottom lip. His hands slid down my face to my shoulders and around to my back pulling me further into his embrace. Our lips never separated as I wrapped my arms around his taut shoulder blades and burrowed into his lap.

Desperate for air I pulled my mouth from his but he continued his assault and kissed his way from the corner of my mouth down to my neck. As happy as I was in this moment, I knew that my emotions were still about to have a rumble in Nevermore over this new life development.

I sat up from his embrace and gave him another kiss on the cheek and flushed from the desire and attraction I saw in Richard's eyes.

I sat forward and hugged him, burying my head in the crook of his neck. I felt his arms snake around my waist.

I kissed his neck and sighed contently. I felt more than I heard Richard chuckle as he placed a kiss to the top of my head.

"Well they do say that birds of a feather…"

I stifled a laugh and reached an arm around to lightly poke him in the ribs.

"Richard if I swear if you finish that horrible fortune cookie statement I will throw you off this roof."

Robin chuckled and placed another kiss on my head.

"Rae, I would expect nothing less."

-X-

Stay golden, my Readers.

\- Chlover


	7. Chapter 7

A new night, the same situation. The dark shadows on my ceiling meld together as I watch without blinking under my covers. Thoughts swirl in my head of the kiss with Robin on the roof. I had liked him for a while now, but had been so afraid that the bond had been magnifying my crush.

A sudden clench in my chest roused me from my thoughts. It felt as though a hand had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart, refusing to let go. The covers around my feet felt like manacles as I attempted to free myself from their clutches and get out of bed. Finally wrenching the covers free my only thought was of leaving the room and getting to the one person who I knew I needed to see.

Standing in front of the brass nameplate the tight feeling in my chest had grown even stronger and instead of waiting for the occupant of the room to open the door I phased through to see Robin in bed. Even in the moonlight I could see the gleam of sweat on his furrowed brow as he tossed and turned.

Sleep is supposed to be a time when an individual looks the most at peace but Robin looked utterly distressed. The quilt from his bed had long been kicked off onto the floor with the sheet bunched around his legs, one bare foot free from the covers. He had also abandoned the shirt I had seen him in earlier and the moonlight illuminated the sheen of sweat on his back. The little of his face that I could see peeking out from his pillow looked unhappy. His brow was furrowed and his lips pursed. Every joint in his body must be tense because from my position at the entrance of the room I could see the white of his knuckles clenched into the sheets.

Tiptoeing closer, I could see that his mouth was moving. It was hard to make out the words until I was near enough to touch him. "Please. Stop….No." He kept mumbling those same words over and over again.

I gently lowered myself onto the edge of the bed near his pillow and reached a hand out to stroke the hair back from his face. I felt him shudder under my hand and the muttering grew more insistent. "No! You can't have her…" The sadness in his voice was so heart wrenching, I could feel tears begin to form in my own eyes. "You can't take her away from me...just like you did everyone else."

Tears openly streaming down my face I lightly pushed Robin onto his back and threw my arms around his neck, Now I had a pretty good idea what he had been dreaming about and if the "her" was in fact...me...I hated knowing that I could cause Robin this much pain.

I squeezed my arms around him tighter and lay myself as close to him as I could possibly get. Curling my head into the crook of his neck, I delivered the softest kisses and hoped that Robin could feel me with him. After a few moments, arms came around my back and grabbed me tight.

"Rae?" a hoarse voice broke the silence.

"Yes, Richard," I kissed his neck again lightly "I am here."

He kissed the top of my head and pulled me tighter into his embrace.

As I lay with him in the darkness of his bedroom, my head rested on his chest I began to feel his heartbeat slow and his hand slowly traced a line up and down my back.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Breaking the silence seems blasphemous, but the quiet in the room was deafening.

As my words his grip about my waist grew tighter and he slid onto his side, drawing me into the warmth of his embrace.

Clearing his throat Richard pulled me into his chest, hiding his face from my view.

"It started as the usual crap. My parents' deaths, flashes of my time with Bruce but it got worse. I honestly didn't think that was possible."

His voice had quieted as he recounted his dream.

"Suddenly I found myself looking down on my unconscious body amongst the rubble of Jump City as well as that of Kori, Gar, and Vic. You, in a child form was running me and urging me to get up but to no avail. Trigon approached you as you crouched near my body and even though I was passed out I could feel your fear."

I felt him shudder as he thought about the emotions running through me during this stand-off with my father.

"Rather than gain your strength and fighting back against him, he continued to beat you down over and over again."

His hands clenched into fists behind my back as he continued.

"While the rational side of my brain knew this was a false dream and there was no way you would be defeated…" Robin got quieter as he continued.

"There was no way I would be able to survive if something happened to you. It is hard to imagine you losing any fight. But, my life has been nothing but happiness taken away from me. The universe can't have you too."

He buried his head into the crook of my neck and we lay in the darkness, just enjoying each other's company.

-X-

Stay golden, my Readers.

\- Chlover


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